THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition April 18, 2019

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership? We’d love to have you as a GFO Member!

For more information visit www.gfo.org. Contact us at info@gfo.org or 503-963-1932. Be sure to check the complete GFO CALENDAR. Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider

Happy Easter!

Please remember that we are giving our volunteers a break to spend time with their families this coming Sunday. The library will be closed April 21st.

Spring Seminar Features Tony Burroughs

Register Now

Have You Signed Up Yet? You’ve seen him on TV tracking the ancestors of Oprah and Smokey Robinson. Now come hear Tony Burroughs the founder and CEO of the Center for Black Genealogy. Come learn from the master himself. He’s won multiple honors over the years and has been featured on national and international television programs. Burroughs is bringing six lessons to the GFO Spring Seminar from which anyone can learn, regardless of ethnic heritage. Burroughs told Portland’s The Skanner newspaper, “People need to understand, ‘What is fundamental genealogy? What are the methods of genealogical research?'” We have cut our usual seminar price in half for this event, thanks to generous support from The Skanner Foundation.

Volunteers Still Needed for Spring Seminar!

Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered for our Spring Seminar! We still could use another person or two, so if you’re thinking about helping out, we’d love to hear from you.

▪ Date: Saturday, April 27th ▪ Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. ▪ Place: Center for Self Enhancement (SEI), 3920 N. Kerby Ave., Portland

Help Needed: Raffle Table Helpers ▪ Stand at the raffle table during breaks and part of lunch, selling tickets ▪ Help count/sort tickets ▪ All day or during lunch (10:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.) ▪ Raffle tables will be set up so volunteers can see and hear the speaker/screen. Raffle Ticket Sellers/Ambassadors ▪ Arrive 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 27th ▪ Circulate among attendees chatting up the GFO before the seminar starts ▪ During lunch & breaks, mingle with attendees, esp. those who look bored/confused Book Seller (1 person) ▪ Sell books in afternoon from 1:00 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Morning is covered) ▪ Book sales tables will be set up so volunteers can see and hear the speaker/screen. Friday Set-up @ SEI (the more the merrier!) ▪ 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. @ SEI on Friday, April 26th ▪ Help arrange tables, hang signs, load/unload stuff ▪ You don’t have to attend on Saturday to help on Friday To volunteer, please email seminar@gfo.org. Thanks!

GFO Becomes Reserve-Only Library

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon has a significant change to announce, one we do not take lightly. The GFO Library is now a non-circulating research library. We will no longer check out materials. We need to protect our valuable holdings, and to ensure that all of our materials are available at all times, in the library, for researchers. There has been an increase in patrons from out of the area who visit us on a research trip. It’s a shame if the item they came in to use is not available. It also turned out we were out of step with most other genealogy libraries, which hold everything in reserve. In the grand scheme, only 10% of our holdings were available to be checked out, so this change will not affect the vast majority of the research materials you rely on. Any materials currently checked out must be returned by their due date. No renewals or extensions will be granted. The Library Committee deliberated this carefully, over many months, before recommending this change, and the Board of Directors has unanimously approved it.

GenTalk this Saturday, April 20th!

Please join us for our free, monthly GenTalk Saturday, April 20th 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. where presenter Jay Fraser, Retired Layout Editor of the GFO Bulletin, will discuss Adobe InDesign®️ Basics.

Genealogy research isn’t just about finding the answer, it’s also about communicating the answer to others. From writing a book or assembling a photo album with stories, Adobe InDesign®️ can help make the look of your project more professional. InDesign®️ gives you excellent control of typography, page design, and book organization. It also has dynamic tools like indexing, cross-referencing, and table of contents. Begin to learn the basics of this powerful program in this special, two-hour GenTalk. If you own InDesign®️, please bring your laptop with the program loaded. Otherwise, you may follow along with the demonstration.

Book of the Week: Oregon Burial Site Guide

The mammoth Oregon Burial Site Guide is probably the most comprehensive compilation ever made of burial sites in our state. The work put into it reflects a truly astounding effort. This 1180 page tome includes county-by-county compilations of cemetery locations at sites public, private, and otherwise, even some on family farms. Cemeteries owned by fraternal orders like the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and Noble Order of Redmen are revealed. Names of the buried have been gleaned from signs and cemetery records, compiled by Dean H. Byrd with the help of Stanley R. Clarke and Janice M. Healy and published in 2001. This 7-pound encyclopedia can be yours for: $ 5 if you pick it up in person at the GFO. $15 if we ship it to you. Contact booksales@gfo.org if you’d like your very own copy.

Survey: How Deep Are Your Oregon Roots?

Many Oregonians have deep multi-generational roots here. Others are recent transplants. How long ago did your kin arrive in Oregon? Who was the first of your ancestors to arrive?

Take Our Survey

Last Week’s Results: 45% of you attend one of our Full-day Seminars. 35% of you attend both! And our Special Interest Groups appear popular. 57% say they attend 1 to 3 groups.

This week at GFO Saturday, April 20th Genealogy Problem Solvers 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Another Brick Wall comes tumbling down! Finding the Irish Townland, Ancestors, and Kin of Patrick Powers Military documents reported Patrick Powers as a native of Ireland who came to the U,S, and then became a U,S, citizen in 1892 by virtue of his U.S. military service. His descendants knew nothing of his Irish roots or his family connections as his early death resulted in almost no verbal history for him. April’s Genealogy Problem Solvers presentation will demonstrate the use of a wide range of records in both the U.S. and Ireland, including detailed examination of Catholic Parish records, Civil records, and Valuation Renewal Books. Utilizing these records, we will pinpoint Patrick’s birthplace and identify some of his ancestors as well as additional kin. We will focus on how detailed examination of many records, the use of spreadsheets, a timeline, and even a distant DNA connection can contribute to finding the story of an elusive ancestor. Join us to learn how these techniques can help you in organizing your research. For more information or to inquire about how the group might help with your brick wall, contact Katie Daly at GPS@gfo.org. African American Ancestry Group 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. The focus of this group is researching African American ancestry. If you know of any other people interested in African American genealogy, tell them about the group. You do not have to be a GFO member to participate! For more information, contact us at african_american@gfo.org. GenTalk 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Please join us for our free, monthly GenTalk where presenter Jay Fraser, Retired Layout Editor of the GFO Bulletin, will discuss Adobe InDesign®️ Basics. Learn how to make your projects more professional using the dynamic tools in this program. If you own InDesign®️, please bring your laptop with the program loaded. Otherwise, you may follow along with the demonstration. WEDNESDAY, April 24th PMUG College 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Portland Mac Users Group College: Traversing the web on browsers and email. This class is free for GFO and PMUG members.